30 Weeks and Then Some

Hey, everyone! We have less than ten weeks left! That's incredible! Who could have known that time would fly by this quickly? We knew it would go fast but this is almost shocking. Things are going well for us. In fact, as I write this I am waiting to go meet Nicole at the doctor's office for an appointment. We continue to be surprised at how uneventful all of these appointments continue to be but, in this case, no news is good news. Nicole and the Bun both have been healthy and right where the should be each time we go in so there is very little for the doctors or nurses to do.

Our Bradley classes have also continued to go well. We really enjoy the other couples in the class as well as our instructor, Debbie. Last week I had the opportunity to wear the Empathy Belly and get a little, tiny bit of a taste of what it feels like to be pregnant. The worst part wasn't the weight but the strap that they cinched down over my diaphragm to simulate the baby pushing against Nicole's diaphragm. It made every breath so shallow. While the five minutes I spent in the Belly really weren't horrible, it was easy to see how difficult and uncomfortable it can be to be Nicole. I am so thankful for how strong she is and has been.

Nicole continues to feel pretty good and pretty healthy. She is also really looking forward to her upcoming showers in June. God has really blessed us, too, by allowing Nicole to work some extra hours over the past few weeks and now, at the perfect time, will be able to give up those extra hours because her bank has hired some new people. We have just felt as though God has really orchestrated some amazing things in our lives over the past six months.

As far as the Bun goes, s/he is about three pounds now! Every day that goes by means the Bun has a much better chance of survival if s/he is born today. In fact, if the Bun were born today s/he would not require a ventilator and would have about a 90% chance of survival! The Bun is surrounded by about a pint and a half of amniotic fluid. The amount of fluid will decrease as the Bun continues to grow (too bad for Nicole that she won't feel as those anything will be decreasing except her amount of sleep). S/he will spend a lot of time opening and closing his/her eyelids. S/he can follow light and may even reach towards light that s/he sees. The lanugo hair (meant to protect the Bun's skin) is starting to disappear. Toenails are in their final growth stage and bone marrow is now responsible for red blood cell production. Our little Bun can now produce tears, as well. Yes, even inside of the womb.